How Communities and Workers Are Holding the Port of Oakland Accountable
A presentation by Aditi Vaidya, MPH Port Program Director for the East Bay Alliance for a Sustainable Economy
What: Environmental justice community forum
When: Thursday, May 7 from 5:30 - 7:30 PM
Where: South Seattle Community College, Georgetown Campus (NOT the main
campus)6737 Corson Avenue South, Building C, the Colin Education
Building MAP
Co-sponsored by the Community Coalition for Environmental Justice (CCEJ) and the Washington Coalition for Clean & Safe Ports
We invite you to hear an inspiring story of environmental justice activists and truck drivers in Oakland taking on one of the largest ports in the U.S. and the global shipping firms that are its customers.
Starting with a small group of residents monitoring diesel pollution in West Oakland and growing into a multi-sector coalition of 75 organizations, the fight for environmental justice in this community has transformed into a broad movement for public health at the Port of Oakland. This transformation has included support from clean air agencies and public health officials and appointment of a long-time environmental justice activist to the Port Commission. Come hear this story and how the coalition is literally fighting for the lives of residents and truck drivers alike.
"Residents living in the shadow of the Port of Oakland can expect to die, on average, more than a decade before residents of the Oakland Hills." – Dr. Anthony Iton, Alameda County Public Health Department
ADITI VAIDYA is the Port Program Director for the East Bay Alliance for a Sustainable Economy in Oakland. She leads EBASE's work to organize a coalition of over 75 environmental, health, environmental justice labor, faith, and community organizations promoting sustainable economic development at the Port of Oakland.
Aditi has fought for environmental justice in California for nearly 15 years. She is currently Board Chair for the Asian Pacific Environmental Network and is a member of the advisory boards of CorpWatch and the Labor Occupational Health Program at UC Berkeley. She was formerly Program Director of the Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition, an environmental justice organization fighting to protect the health of workers and communities impacted by high-tech manufacturing in San Jose. She has also worked for the Southwest Network for Environmental and Economic Justice and the League of Conservation Voters Education Fund.